Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

After gathering their troops, Senggelinqin and Liu Ye returned to the general's tent.

Senggelinqin recounted the previous battle to Liu Ye. Liu Ye frowned and replied, "Your Highness, didn't I give you a suggestion before I left? Facing fierce artillery attacks and rifle volleys, we absolutely cannot attack the enemy's positions in a dense formation. That would only lead to our own deaths. We simply cannot break through their firepower suppression!"

Senggelinqin's face turned red. The loss this time was too great. It was all because of his carelessness. He seriously underestimated the infantry of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, which led to such a huge loss!

Senggelinqin asked: "Liu Ye, how should we deploy the battle plan next?"

Liu Ye took a deep breath and replied, "First, this war is very difficult for us to win. Although we have an absolute advantage in manpower, our combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the enemy. The Anglo-French coalition has 20,000 to 30,000 men. Even if we have killed a certain number of foreigners, it is still insignificant compared to our losses. All our casualties combined have exceeded 1,000, while the Anglo-French coalition has suffered less than 2,000 casualties, and the number of soldiers actually killed is only a few hundred. The best way is to negotiate peace, as before, to use war to promote peace! Second, if peace talks fail, then the entire army will be withdrawn, stretching the Anglo-French front. Their supplies all come from the sea. As long as we cut off the key roads from Tianjin to Beijing, and from Jinzhou and Yantai to Beijing, they will have no supply from the rear. We can then mobilize our troops and wear them down! Trading lives for lives is the last resort. Even if we can win, it will often be a tragic victory with huge casualties!"

Senggelinqin nodded and replied, "But we are not far from Beijing now. We must ensure that Beijing is not lost..."

Liu Ye smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, if we want to win, we must extend the Anglo-French coalition's front line. If we want to extend the Anglo-French coalition's front line, we must abandon Beijing and defend Beijing to the death. If we fight a decisive battle with the Anglo-French coalition, we will undoubtedly be defeated. Their powerful artillery alone is something we cannot deal with. We can't turn the situation around by relying on a momentary show of bravery!"

Senggelinqin fell into deep thought. Although Liu Ye's words made sense, if he abandoned Beijing like this, he was afraid that he would never survive this ordeal. Even the upright officials in the court would drown him with their spit! The emperor would definitely not spare him. If he died, then no matter how powerful Liu Ye was, he would not be able to control the situation. After all, he was just an admiral of Zhili who had not yet taken office. He had no way of controlling such a large army!

Senggelinqin shook his head and replied, "No, Liu Ye, Beijing must not be abandoned. Even if we fail, we must defend Beijing to the death! This concerns the dignity of the dynasty and the country. We cannot retreat!"

Liu Ye felt depressed. Since it didn't work, he just had to give up and try his best.

"Your Highness, I haven't asked you yet, how did my eldest brother He Zhengqing die?"

Liu Ye asked in a deep voice with a gleam in his eyes.

Senggelinqin sighed and replied, "Liu Ye, I am sorry for Zhengqing. At Dagukou, my cavalry was attacked by the British and French infantry and cavalry. Yiledong'a also deserted the battlefield, causing great chaos in the army. I had no choice but to withdraw to Tianjin and sent the lieutenant He Changzai to deliver a letter to Zhengqing. Who would have thought that He Changzai was so afraid of death that he ignored my order and fled without permission. The order was not passed on to Zhengqing. As a result, Zhengqing was besieged by the British and French forces from both land and sea, and almost all of them were killed in the battle!

Senggelinqin was also filled with grief. He had equipped most of the rifles to He Zhengqing's Dagukou troops in order to defend Dagukou to the death. However, they were defeated in one battle, leaving him with no organized army equipped with Western weapons. If He Zhengqing's troops were still there, how could they be in such a passive situation?

"That Concubine He, I have personally beheaded him. This is to comfort all the soldiers who died at Dagukou. When I return to the court in the future, I will be the first to commend them..."

Liu Ye felt depressed. It was useless to say anything now. He had teammates who were like pigs. This was also Senggelinqin's sorrow. Yiledong'a and He Changzai were such pig teammates. The group of trash under Shengbao were also pig teammates. Even if one of them was missing, the British and French forces would never have advanced here so quickly, nor would they have defeated the Qing army without any chance of fighting back!

Senggelinqin asked: "Liu Ye, how should we continue to deploy the battle?"

Liu Ye bowed to the east bank and said: "Please give your instructions, Your Highness. I will do my best!"

Senggelinqin shook his head and replied, "Liu Ye, please don't be polite in front of me. If it's about suppressing the Nian bandits, I will naturally take the lead. But when it comes to foreigners, I know too little about them. If I don't know myself but the enemy, how can I gain an advantage? You are well-versed in foreign affairs and have a deep understanding of Western armies. You are the perfect choice. You will lead the deployment. No matter what the outcome, I will bear the responsibility!"

Liu Ye nodded and replied, "Your Highness, if I were in charge of the deployment, we would have to abandon Baliqiao. Behind us, there are two regiments of British cavalry stationed in Yujiawei, threatening our rear at any time. In front of us, the British and French forces have also concentrated tens of thousands of troops. We are caught in the middle. Even if we can stop their first attack, we will definitely not be able to stop their subsequent attacks!"

Senggelinqin frowned and asked, "Liu Ye, do you have so little confidence? Although we suffered heavy losses in this battle, we won after all and defended Baliqiao!"

Liu Ye smiled helplessly and said, "Your Highness, although we held Bali Bridge, that was also due to luck. My 800 cavalrymen rushed out from the side and the French army was caught off guard. We defeated the right wing and even their commander was beaten to a pulp. That's why we suffered today's defeat. However, this does not mean that our combat power is superior to that of the foreigners. The Anglo-French coalition suffered few casualties and their combat power is still there, while our army has been seriously injured. If we engage in positional warfare with them here, we will only die..."

Senggelinqin looked gloomy for a moment and asked, "What's next? If we don't hold Baliqiao, are there other dangerous places we can defend?"

Liu Ye sneered, "Hold on? Why should we hold on? We have plenty of cavalry. We can engage in guerrilla warfare with them and attack the Anglo-French coalition from all corners. In a short period of time, the Anglo-French coalition will definitely be stopped by us east of Beijing. Perhaps we still have a chance of victory! You know, although they have the advantage of advanced weapons, we still have the advantage of terrain!"